Bye Blog. Hello References!

We wanted to let you know that we redesigned our blog, giving it the newer, and we think better name “References.” Why? It is actually a logical consequence for what we set out to do from the beginning.

I started Kaufmann Mercantile as a traditional blog almost a year before the store opened. It was summer of 2009, and I had a long list of daily reads from blogs I admired, starting with A Continuous Lean, 10ENGINES, and Secret Forts. When I decided to start my own blog, it was immediately followed by the fear: How can my voice be different? How can I make it fit?

My thought was to marry a vision of fashion and other “cool” things with seemingly ordinary products, things like kitchen towels or wooden crates.

I was largely motivated by environmental concerns – If I could make people have the same enthusiasm about kitchen towels as they did about a new pair of shoes, maybe we could all stop using paper towels! – but I also had an abiding interest for the design and quality of everyday goods.

While learning, I was trying to do was create a place that would help other people make better decisions when buying products – paying attention to usage, production, and the history of materials and place. And since behind every good product is a passionate person with a story worth telling, those narratives also become part of the project.

Since all these articles were written about tools and people and ideas which were essentially timeless (in my mind, anyway) the traditional blog format of having the oldest article be at the end of a long list seemed unjust and, frankly, inaccurate.

This new design allows for a more friendly way to access the information our amazing set of writers have created. Every article allows for comments and we would love to hear your thoughts. You can also email me directly. View References here.